Ottawa residents warned of severe thunderstorms, Report

Environment Canada updated its weather warnings for strong winds and “severe” thunderstorms in the Ottawa-Gatineau region Friday, as heavy rainfall descended on the National Capital Region.

According to the advisory, “very strong wind gusts can damage buildings, down trees and blow vehicles off the road.” The agency also warns that a severe thunderstorm could produce a tornado.

The weather agency warns Ottawa residents to take cover and stay indoors if severe weather occurs.

The agency had previously issued a warning late Friday morning that “wind gusts to 90 km/h are likely across much of the region after a cold front moves through from late afternoon to early evening.” That warning was still in effect as of late Friday afternoon.

The wind warnings prompted Air Canada to announce it was waiving flight change fees for the day in the Ottawa-Toronto-Montreal areas.

According to the weather office, winds should calm down around midnight with wind gusts falling to 40 km/h. Friday’s low could drop to about 6 C.

Saturday is expected to be a gorgeous spring day, with sunny skies and a high of 21 C.

Sunday will be a bit cooler with a high of only 16 C and some clouds.

Later in the day on Sunday, some rain could fall and — now the bad news — the low could drop all the way down to -3 C.

The average low for this time of the year is just a shade above 5 C.

The coldest it’s ever been at night since 1939 was in 1986, when the mercury plunged to -2.6 C, so we could be in record-setting territory.